Some of the most important and also most neglected items inside a home are the hazard detectors for such items as smoke and carbon monoxide. It is very common for people to forget to change the batteries. In addition, detectors that are hard-wired to the electrical system of a home also can be rendered worthless when the power goes out and the user neglects to change the battery backup. This poses an obvious danger for those rare occasions when a fire or dangerous level of carbon monoxide exists in a home. In this regard, there is a need for a system that employs a rechargeable battery to a hazard detector that is incorporated with a portable household device such as a remote control.
Meanwhile, one item that is important to people is their entertainment. This includes remote controls that are typically used everyday. For example, people often fall asleep with the remote control nearby. At the same time, the home smoke or carbon monoxide detectors may not have battery power or the hard wiring may have long ago failed. In fact, statistics by the National Fire Protection Association state that 75-80 percent of all fire-related deaths occur within the home. More than half of these deaths occur in buildings without a functioning smoke detector. At the same time, carbon monoxide poisoning often is confused with the flu based on the symptoms. This can render a person unconscious to the point of death. Because of these facts, there remains a need for a system that offers the most comprehensive assurance that a hazard detector will be functional and located within common living areas of a home such as a bedroom or living room. The present invention solves this need based on the fact that the battery power of a remote control is likely to be tested every day through its common usage. This means that the hazard detector is much more apt to be powered and fully functional.
At the same time, there also is a need for a system that easily permits a user to locate a remote control when it becomes missing. This is an issue that has affected most people at one time or another and in fact can be very frustrating. Because of this, there is a need for a system that permits a user to push a locator button on a stationary item in order to cause the remote control to identify itself. The present invention solves this issue as well by incorporating a locator button with the base charger. When the locator button is compressed, the remote control speaker will emit a noise and the buttons on the remote control will blink so that the user can easily locate the missing remote control. This location aspect is combined with the alert aspects of the present invention relating to the hazard detector.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,069 issued to Machen on Dec. 8, 1981 is a battery powered portable smoke and fire detector and portable battery charger. Unlike the present invention, this detector is a separate device and not incorporated into one that is already commonly used. Moreover, unlike the present invention, there is no system in Machen to locate the detector when it is undiscoverable to the user. Thus, Machen requires the user to remember to incorporate an additional device into his or her daily use. Meanwhile, the present invention adds functionality to a commonly used device that is unlikely to be forgotten or neglected and a mechanism to find the device when it is undiscoverable to the user.
US 2006/0007151 A1 filed by Ram on Jun. 8, 2005 are additional devices, disposed within the enclosure of peripheral computer apparatus. While the list of additional devices included in Ram includes smoke detectors, unlike the present invention, Ram explicitly incorporates additional devices or functionality only within peripheral computer apparatus. Moreover, unlike the present invention, no peripheral computer apparatus remains in the user's possession to the extent of a remote control. Additionally, there is no system in Ram to locate the detector when it is undiscoverable to the user. Thus, while Ram limits the addition of a smoke detector only to peripheral computer apparatus, which are fundamentally different from remote controls in terms of their portability and use, the present invention incorporates multiple hazard detectors into a remote control, and includes a mechanism to find the device when it is undiscoverable to the user.